What happened
Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin several times after leaving office and sent him scarce Covid-19 testing machines for his personal use at the start of the pandemic, Bob Woodward said in his upcoming book "War." Woodward also details President Joe Biden's battles with Putin and his contentious relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Who said what
Biden's "frustration and distrust" of Netanyahu erupted last spring, when he concluded the Israeli prime minister was interested only in his political survival and "had been lying to him regularly" about Israel's plans in Gaza, Woodward wrote. "Bibi" was a "son of a bitch" and a "bad f--king guy," Biden reportedly told an adviser.
Trump spoke privately with Putin as recently as early 2024, Woodward reported, citing a Trump aide who also said the two leaders had spoken as many as seven times since February 2021. It is "highly unusual" for former presidents to secretly converse with an "avowed adversary of the United States on the opposite side of a war," The New York Times said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Citing Woodward's book, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Trump on Howard Stern's radio show Tuesday for reportedly sending Russia's "murderous dictator" rare Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines in about May 2020, when "everybody was scrambling to get these kits" and Americans were "dying by the hundreds every day." It was Putin's idea to keep the gift secret, according to Woodward. Trump told ABC News that Woodward was a bad "storyteller" who had "lost his marbles." His campaign said, "none of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true."
What next?
"War" is set for release Oct. 15. Biden is scheduled to talk to Netanyahu on Wednesday, for the first time in seven weeks, about Israel's plans to strike Iran, Axios said.
-
Phish food for thought: Ben & Jerry’s political turmoilIn the Spotlight After a landmark demerger by Unilever, spinning off their ice cream brands, a war of words over activism threatens to ‘overshadow’ the deal
-
Magazine solutions - December 12, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 12, 2025
-
ECHR: is Europe about to break with convention?Today's Big Question European leaders to look at updating the 75-year-old treaty to help tackle the continent’s migrant wave
-
The Trump administration says it deports dangerous criminals. ICE data tells a different story.IN THE SPOTLIGHT Arrest data points to an inconvenient truth for the White House’s ongoing deportation agenda
-
Ex-FBI agents sue Patel over protest firingspeed read The former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest for ‘apolitical tactical reasons’
-
Trump unveils $12B bailout for tariff-hit farmersSpeed Read The president continues to insist that his tariff policy is working
-
Trump: Losing energy and supportFeature Polls show that only one of his major initiatives—securing the border—enjoys broad public support
-
Is Trump in a bubble?Today’s Big Question GOP allies worry he is not hearing voters
-
Trump’s Comey case dealt new setbackspeed read A federal judge ruled that key evidence could not be used in an effort to reindict former FBI Director James Comey
-
Moscow cheers Trump’s new ‘America First’ strategyspeed read The president’s national security strategy seeks ‘strategic stability’ with Russia
-
Trump’s poll collapse: can he stop the slide?Talking Point President who promised to ease cost-of-living has found that US economic woes can’t be solved ‘via executive fiat’
